EU has agreed on new rules for suspending visa-free travel, Israel may be under attack - Euronews

Israel will be one of the first countries to be targeted by the reform of the mechanism for suspending short-term visa-free travel to the EU and the Schengen area, agreed on Tuesday by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, according to sources in the European Parliament, but in fact these changes are aimed at sending a message to countries that benefit from visa-free travel, encouraging them to reduce migration to the EU, Euronews reports, writes UNN.

Details

The new rules change the grounds for suspending visa-free travel, including human rights violations, which could lead to the introduction of mandatory visas for Israeli citizens, among others, Euronews sources in parliament familiar with the matter said.

Currently, citizens of 61 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and the Western Balkan states, can travel to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

The EU can suspend visa-free regime under certain conditions. So far, it has happened only once - with the Republic of Vanuatu because of its citizenship-by-investment program, which allowed wealthy Russians to obtain Vanuatu passports that allow free entry to the EU, the publication writes.

"However, according to a new agreement between EU lawmakers and member states, the suspension mechanism will now be easier to launch, as thresholds have been lowered and new criteria have been added," the publication writes.

For example, violations of the Charter of the United Nations, serious violations of international human rights law or humanitarian law, as well as non-compliance with decisions of international courts will now, as noted, be legal grounds for terminating a country's visa-free status.

"This tool helps us to embody the values that have shaped our community and allows us to ensure respect for human rights and international law," Slovenian MEP Matjaž Nemec, rapporteur on the bill in the European Parliament, told Euronews. "No particular country is being targeted," he added.

However, as Euronews sources in the European Parliament reported, "Israel's status is among those for countries most at risk of challenge under the new procedure, due to allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in the Gaza Strip - allegations raised by the UN". Serbia may also be targeted over human rights issues raised by the UN, sources said.

"According to the procedure, the European Commission must issue an implementing act suspending the visa-free regime for a specific country for one year. This decision requires only the approval of the member states and can be blocked by a qualified majority. To extend the suspension, the European Commission must issue a delegated act, which instead can be blocked by either the Council of the EU or the European Parliament," the publication reports.

The Schengen area countries, which include all EU states except Cyprus, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, as indicated, may also push the European Commission to start the procedure by reporting that they believe the conditions for launching the mechanism are met. The European Parliament may also propose a non-binding resolution recommending the suspension of a country's visa-free status.

"Most likely, an EU member state will raise the issue of Israel, rather than the European Parliament," a source familiar with the matter told Euronews, adding that several political groups in the European Parliament were pushing for the inclusion of human rights violations with Israel in mind.

Among other legislative changes that are included in the draft are new provisions related to migration. Currently, a significant increase in the number of people of a certain nationality who are illegally staying in the Schengen area, or an increase in the number of asylum seekers from a country with a low recognition rate, may justify the suspension of the visa-free regime, the publication writes.

According to the reform, the threshold for assessing the increase in illegal stay will be reduced from 50% to 30% of the amount for the previous period. Meanwhile, the threshold for "low recognition rate" of asylum applications will reportedly be increased from the current 4% to 20%. This is expected to expand the range of participating countries and make it easier to launch the mechanism.

In fact, the publication writes, the changes are aimed at sending a signal to countries that have visa-free access, encouraging them to reduce migration to the EU.

"The Polish Presidency, which heads the Council (of the EU), strongly promoted this reform due to strong ambitions among the member states. That is why we were able to reach an agreement today," said Matjaž Nemec.

The agreement reached on Tuesday still needs to be formally approved by both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU before it becomes EU law.

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